SF Tenant: It’s always a bad idea to rent a room in an apartment with an absentee master tenant. Too many things can go wrong.

SF Tenant: It’s always a bad idea to rent a room in an apartment with an absentee master tenant. Too many things can go wrong.

Most leases have a clause governing assignment and subletting. Interestingly, many tenants think that subletting only occurs when one vacates an entire unit and turns it over to somebody else. When you add or replace roommates you are subletting part of the unit, so the subletting cause in your lease applies.

If you’re a sub-tenant/not on the lease, what are your rights? Can the master tenant kick you out, or raise the rent, at his/her discretion?

It doesn’t make sense to give the landlord a say in picking your roommate. The original tenant or tenants are still responsible for paying the rent. The landlord retains all of his remedies to collect and to repossess the unit if the rent isn’t paid.